[Yaesu] RE: Yaesu Digest V1 #131

At 15:29 24/08/1997 -0400, Bob Walchli wrote:
To: <yaesu@contesting.com>
>> Date: Fri, 22 Aug 1997 13:18:38 +0200
>> From: Esterson/Pinsky <avie@glx.chief.co.il> (by way of Esterson/Pinsky
>> <avie@glx.chief.co.il>)
>> Subject: [Yaesu] "FT51R Headaches - the Sequel"
>>
>> Howdy all,
>>
>> Remember the rig that went back to Lentini for warantee repair and took a
>> month to get back? Well, it just got delivered to me here in Israel by my
>> wonderful family, and besides the fact that Lentini ignored my photocopy of
>> the purchase receipt and the warrantee registration and therefor tried to
>> charge over $80 for the repair (most of which was eventually refunded), the
>> rig still has the same problem: when switching battery packs, it frequently
>> refuses to "light up" again, without a lot of fiddling around. This seems to
>> be most prevalent when the exhausted pack has really run down to the point
>> that the display disappears altogether, which happens about 5 seconds after
>> the low-battery indicator comes on. I'm using Yaesu's FNB-38s, and one
>> 1500mAh FNB35 from W&W. BTW, The FNB38s (nominally 9.6v) routinely indicate
>> 10.4v on the rig's internal meter, till they're just about empty.
>>
>>
>> Am I doing something wrong? Is this a common problem with this rig? Has
>> anyone else encountered it and found the solution? Do you know of anyone
>> anywhere at Yaesu or a service center who can correctly diagnose the rig and
>> repair it in a timely fashion? I'd sure like to talk to a service engineer
>> who can reassure me that it's worth it to return the rig for repair again,
>> and not having the use of it for another couple months ... Can anyone tell
>> me who to call?
>> - -Avi, 4X6UA
>
>Hi Avi,
>
>You are not doing anything wrong, I have a FT-51 and know five others that
>also have the 51 and they all do the same thing when the battery goes low.
>
>73 Bob N8ZCC
>
>
>
>--
>FAQ on WWW: http://www.qsl.net/k7on/yaesu.html
>Submissions: yaesu@contesting.com
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>
>
What Bob reports is interesting, because some people wrote that they could
in no way reproduce the problem I describe, so I am suspicious that this is
a problem afflicting a percentage of the rigs out there, and some ops have
simply chosen to live with it. One person wrote that he routinely twists the
entire rig to get it running again! Another wrote that he finds he has to
routinely scrape the contacts with a screwdriver, as a soft cotton swab
(solvent or no) doesn't help. I'm starting to wonder if it's a specific
production run, or perhaps more common with the higher voltage packs (I use
two FNB-38s and one FNB-35)? I must say that considering the currents
involved, the point-like tips of the spring-loaded contacts don't inspire a
lot of confidence, gold-plated or not. I'd prefer to see more surface area
at the contacts. Another possibility that occured to me is that there's a
capacitor near the battery input in the rig holding a charge (low voltage)
that confuses the microprocessor into keeping the radio off till the charge
is drained off (by time, us fiddling with the packs, twisting the rig,
making electrical contact between our bodies and the rig with a mettalic
screwdriver, etc.,.) This would also indicate a design flaw.
I'm taking a stab at trying to get it fixed, and the rig is on its way to
Yaesu in Cerritos, CA. I'll report to the list when I get it back (may take
a while till I find someone headed this way).
Thanks for all your interest and support.
Avi 4X6UA
--
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Submissions: yaesu@contesting.com
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Problems: owner-yaesu@contesting.com
Search: http://www.contesting.com/km9p/search.htm